Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Created: | 2015-05-31 19:35 |
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Institution: | Department of Archaeology and Anthropology |
Description: | The ancestors of the Kalmyks, several Oirat tribes, are known to have set out on a westward journey from the land of Dzungaria (today the northern half of China's Xinjiang province, western Mongolia, and eastern Kazakhstan) at the beginning of the seventeenth century. By 1630 they had reached the territory of today's Kalmykia to establish the Kalmyk Khanate (1630-1771). Although they adhered to both Buddhism and shamanism, the latter was officially banned among the Kalmyks following the historic 1640 meeting of Mongol and Oirat lords at which Buddhism was declared as the state religion. According to the new law, not only shamans but also those who sought their services were subject to severe punishment. Following the official ban, shamans, however, did not disappear overnight. In Kalmykia in the eighteenth century there existed several types of specialist who practiced various aspects of shamanism, including medlgch, bo, and udgn. But under pressure from the Buddhist establishment and later the Orthodox Christian Church, by the nineteenth century, as foreign travelers observed, bo and udgn had already been shamanising without traditional shamanic implements such as mirrors, drums and other 'musical' instruments. In this way, they looked less 'shamanic' and acted more like healers and bone-setters. Today shamanic elements have survived mainly in traditional medicine, especially in the healing rituals and practices of Kalmyk folk healers known as medlgch (lit. 'those who know').
The healing repertoire of a medlgch is wide-ranging, encompassing many aspects of the lives of Kalmyks. People struck by bad luck, suffering from all sorts of ailments, loss, addiction, phobias, infertility, sleepwalking, and those who are haunted by malevolent ancestral and other spirits, all visit medlgch. These folk healers purport to derive their healing powers from deities or spirits whom they accept as their guardian patrons during special initiation rituals. There are several kinds of deities that offer patronage and guardianship, the most popular being Tsagan Aav (White Old Man, a shamanic deity later included in the Buddhist pantheon) and Okn Tengr (Maiden Sky, is a female deity who has a dual nature. Sometimes she is regarded as a shamanic goddess of fire, especially during clan rituals involving fire sacrifices, and sometimes she is seen as the Buddhist deity Palden Lhamo). Other guardians are ‘traditional’ Buddhist deities that are responsible for health, longevity, wisdom, music, and fortune. In this sense, today old Kalmyk beliefs survive being heavily mixed with Buddhism. |
Media items
This collection contains 73 media items.
Media items
Alexandr Tarancheev, About Evil Spirits
Alexandr talks about evil spirits and relays a story about a woman who became one:
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 28 Apr 2019
Alexandra Sanzheeva, About Evil Spirits
Alexandra recounts two ghost stories.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 11 Nov 2018
Anatoliy Dzhavinov, A Story About a Cat
Anatoliy relays a story about how in his childhood a cat saved him from a snake. That snake, according to his grandfather, was Anatoliy’s guardian-protector.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 21 Aug 2018
Anna Bembeeva, Ghost Stories
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 16 Jun 2019
Bembya Mitruev, About Local Deities in Kalmykia
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 8 Aug 2017
Bembya Mitruev, About Tsagan Aav
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 8 Aug 2017
Boris Dochkaev, About Shulmus
Boris talks about evil spirits (shulmus) and his experience of encountering them.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 18 Jul 2018
Borla Ochaeva, About Evil Spirits
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 16 Jun 2019
Bosya Barzueva, About Evils Spirits
Bosya says the following: After the Kalmyks were deported to Siberia, the Russians who stayed behind moved into their empty houses. Some of them saw ghosts and evil spirits in the...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 7 May 2019
Dmitriy Mandzhiev, About Evil Spirits
In the steppe there are many places that are haunted by evil spirits. A place not far from our cattle station is such a place. People who travel there at night usually get lost...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 28 Oct 2018
Dolgan Lidzhiev, Tsagan Aav
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 3 Jan 2020
Dordzhi Barkhaev, About Whether Evil Spirits Really Exist
Dordzhi expresses his skepticism about the existence of evil spirits:
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 4 May 2019
Dordzhi Nandyshev, About Amnya Dolig
Dordzhi says that married women (who marry to other clans) are considered to be ‘dead’ by their paternal relatives. During a wedding, the groom brings a sacrificial sheep to the...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 8 Aug 2017
Dordzhi Nandyshev, About Evil Spirits and Beings
Dordzhi relays what he heard from his parents about various evil spirits and beings:
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 4 May 2019
Dordzhi Nandyshev, About Snakes
Dordzhi says that in the past the Cheerya Temple had a basement where lived a huge snake that the monks fed with meat during celebrations. Later in Soviet times people also...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 8 Aug 2017
Dordzhi Nandyshev, About the Sacred Tsagdul Tree
Dordzhi says that in the past the groom’s representatives came for the bride early in the morning. On the way back, it was customary for them to stop and make the bride to bow to...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 4 May 2019
Dordzhi Nandyshev, About the Sacred Tyavlgn Tree
Dordzhi talks about a magical tree that keeps evil at bay:
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 4 May 2019
Dzhidzha Araeva, About a Substitute Ritual
Dzhidzha has witnessed a substitute ritual that was performed by a woman who fell ill. A woman wiped her body with dough and sculpted a human figurine from the dough. She dressed...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 14 May 2018
Dzhidzha Araeva, About Shulmus
Dzhidzha relays stories about people encountering shulmus spirits. This is her story:
It is believed that shulmus (evil spirits) live in the steppe and make people go astray....
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 14 May 2018
Ekaterina Boldyreva, About the Tsagan Aav
Ekaterina says that she has a picture of Tsagan Aav depicted as a standing sage (as opposed to a sitting one). From her friend she heard that Tsagan Aav comes to the dreams of...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (PRE-BUDDHIST BELIEFS)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 16 Jan 2017